We Should All Care, All The Time.

We should all care, all the time.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." -MLK

I just found myself pondering: You do a lot of public support for racial/ethnic diversity in media, which I very much support! Do you ever get questioned as to why, as a white person, this means so much to you? Because I've done a lot of LGBT-supporting stuff in the last five years or so, and every once in a while get asked/told that because I care about it so much, I must be SECRETLY GAY. I need to know your answer because I'm sure people don't call you SECRETLY ASIAN or something.

My white Israeli boss, when we got into a discussion about Trayvon Martin a while back, asked “What happened to you?” when I was explaining racism, as if some tragic event must be behind a white person caring about racism.

My parents are often baffled by it too. They have asked, “Who told you this?” and “Why does it matter?” and “What made you feel this way?”. It’s especially weird to them because when I talk about sexism and stuff they like to accuse me (subtly) of playing the victim, but they hate when I do the opposite and say “Hey, we’re kind of wealthy and have benefited from whiteness.” Like, they don’t think that’s true and also don’t see the benefit of claiming it and they ask me why a lot. (One conversation in Disney World a couple years back about the white princesses being so overtly first tier while the POC princesses were second tier comes to mind, where my mom said something like “I remember you loving having your blonde dolls! Why do you want less of them?” and “What would be wrong with it if the princesses just were all white, anyway?”) [you would seriously never know, until you bring these things up very directly, that my mom feels this way]

White people, especially in public forums or online where people are mostly strangers, have also asked me, “What, are you dating a black guy? Why do you care?”

And I have been, at least once, asked if I was mixed only after talking about racism (so I guess that’s the SECRETLY ASIAN thing).

In short, yes, I get questioned as to why, as a white person, it would mean so much to me.

I just don’t understand why it WOULDN’T. I mean, people are being mistreated. I’m benefiting from it. Of course it’s important to me that that stops.

Strength does not come through winning…

The Science of Why We Don't Believe Science

How our brains fool us on climate, creationism, and the vaccine-autism link.

A bit of a read, but absolutely worth it. This article really demonstrates the need for us to separate our emotional attachment to political and social issues, to exercise our faculties of discernment as much as possible. Reality is reality, and no matter what you value in your life, denying the way things actually are will never make things better. Remain calm and keep your mind open to the evidence that is there.

She is detached from all things; that is why she is one with them. Because she has let go of herself, she is perfectly fulfilled

Tao Te Ching (via samsaranmusing)

always room to reblog the old man.

The wise are good to the good, but also are good to the bad. Wise people trust those who trust, but also trust those who do not trust... Goodness and trust are the very nature of the Path. -Paraphrasing from the old man, chapter 49.

It reminds me a great deal of the quote from Nietzsche, where one must take care not to fight monsters, lest you become a monster yourself. I believe that people should be judged by how they treat their enemies, as this is the clearest indication of one's character. Eye for an eye and all that. I do have a tendency to explain quotes with other quotes, apologies for that.

Oh shut up. Every time it rains, it stops raining. Every time you hurt, you heal. After darkness, there is always light and you get reminded of this every morning but still you choose to believe that the night will last forever. Nothing lasts forever. Not the good or the bad. So you might as well smile while you’re here.

I Wrote This For You  (via cold-winter-days)

I suppose this is also Dao.